An original agitprop folk tale for the theatre, provoked by the deforestation of the Amazon.

Wednesday, May 6, 2015

The Tree Play Explores Love, Conservation, Survival in the Amazon Rainforest

In writer/director Robi Polgar’s new play, a young girl befriends a tree in the Amazon rainforest. They forge a unique bond that leads the girl on a life-long quest to protect the rainforest, while awakening a new consciousness in the tree. The play’s environmental staging and exploration of movement bring audiences up close to the action.

Austin, TX May 6, 2015 A short description can be found at the end of this post.

Premiering this August at the Ground Floor Theatre, The Tree Play is an original work for theatre by writer/director Robi Polgar that explores the relationship between man and nature and poses questions about survival, environmental activism and what it means to fall in love.

The Tree Play tells the story of a girl who grows up in the Amazon rainforest and befriends a tree. Years later she returns to the forest as an environmental activist. When a logger threatens to cut down the tree she rises to its defense. The girl and the logger struggle and, as they do, something magical happens.

The play’s designs call for the Ground Floor Theatre to transform into the rainforest, where audiences get to experience the story up close in an immersive setting. Playgoers are encouraged to leave this uplifting new play with a renewed sense of mission -- to become better stewards of the Earth.

A Sensory Approach to Making Theatre
The play combines performance styles to complement traditional scenes that together tell the story of the girl, the tree and the people who influence the life of the rainforest. Actors use their bodies and voices to create the environment through a range of movement, dance, choral voices and sounds.

“I want to evoke a living, breathing forest, in which the audience is arrayed as if sitting under great trees in a far-away jungle, immersed in the environment and pressed close to the action,” says writer/director Polgar. “I’m especially excited to explore how the actors can expand the sense that we are in the forest through movement, sound and rhythm.”

One Girl and One Tree: A Microcosm of the Threat to Our Rainforests
Rainforests around the world are threatened by accelerated deforestation. According the World Wildlife Fund, approximately 17% of the Amazon rainforest has been lost in the last 50 years. The continued deforestation of rainforests around the world is having a catastrophic effect on life on earth, because these forests help mitigate climate change.

Additionally, environmentalists and others who are fighting to save the rainforest
have been targets for assassination, silenced to allow the wholesale destruction of the forest to continue.

The Tree Play uses the story of one girl and one tree to make the point that the stakes are high in the struggle to preserve the vital forests of the Earth.

“I felt compelled to write this play after reading accounts of environmentalists murdered for trying to protect the Amazon rainforest,” says Polgar. “It’s important to me that, despite the serious message of the play, audiences come to the theatre and have a lot of fun, get to experience the unexpected and wind up deeply moved. Hopefully they’ll be inspired to think a little harder about how they can help to protect their environment.”

Polgar Returns to Directing after 10-Year Absence
Robi Polgar is a writer, director and musician who lives in Austin, Texas. The Tree Play marks Polgar’s return to the Austin stage after a 10-year break. Prior to taking time away from the theatre, Polgar was perpetually active as a writer, director and producer, first as a co-founder and Artistic Director of The Public Domain Theatre Company on Congress Avenue in downtown Austin, and then as an independent artist. His work has been recognized by the Austin Critics’ Table and has won numerous B. Iden Payne Awards.

Short DescriptionWhat: The Tree Play is an agitprop folk tale for the theatre, provoked by the deforestation of the Amazon. Written and directed by Robi Polgar, The Tree Play tells the story of a girl who befriends a tree. Their unique bond leads the girl on a life-long quest to protect the rainforest, despite the ultimate personal cost.When: Thursday, Friday, Saturday, August 6 - 8, 2015 (Five performances only: two performances on Friday and Saturday at 7:30pm and 9:00pm)Where: Ground Floor Theatre, 979 Springdale Rd, Austin, TX 78702Tickets for The Tree Play are $5 - $25 and will be available at the Ground Floor Theatre Box Office starting July 1.Note: Recommended for ages 12 and older.

The Tree Play is being produced with the generous assistance of Hyde Park Theatre.

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About The Tree Play

Robi Polgar is a writer, director, musician and unrepentant soccer junkie who lives in Austin, Texas with his wife, children and four-footed friends. When he's not writing, directing or playing music, you can find him running around on area soccer fields.